After a long week, sometimes a mixed drink, preferably with some bourbon, is needed to unwind. And depending on the type of week, sometimes it involves more than one. I’m sure you can relate. Perhaps I’ve mellowed out in my elder years (I turned 27 last weekend so I’m feeling old :)), but the last thing I want to be around nowadays is a rowdy bar with earsplitting sounds and music too loud to recognize. That’s actually the complete opposite of what I need after a stressful week!

I prefer a cool, low-key lounge where I can kick back and relax. For this reason, Cook & Brown Public House has quickly become one of my favorite places to grab a hand-crafted cocktail. Their complex drink menu is full of…well…stuff I’ve never heard of, lol. Some of their signature drinks include “The Smoke Show” with Uprising Whiskey, Mezcal, Campari, Vanilla, and Tobacco (yes, you read it right?!) or “Champs Elysees” with Cognac, Yellow Chartreuse, Lemon, and Bitters…just to name a few.

Cook & Brown’s knowledgeable mixologists carefully measure each ingredient to ensure perfection. Plus, since everything is measured so closely, it guarantees consistency. If you enjoy your cocktail and want to order it again in the future, it should taste exactly the same next time around. I personally hate going to a bar where they take a random amount of this, a careless splash of that, and the bartender hopes that it might taste good. At Cook & Brown, this is never the case. All of their cocktails are perfectly balanced…nothing fruity or sweet (sorry ladies). Their drinks are sophisticated and made for sipping…especially due to the amount of alcohol they add in. Although their drinks may seem on the expensive side (ranging from $10 – $13 each) compared to other bars, one drink goes a long way at Cook & Brown.

So if you are like me and prefer to avoid all of the pandemonium caused by inebriated frat kids and belligerent bar-hoppers, head to Cook & Brown next time for a nice change of scenery. It’s a classy, upscale restaurant/bar serving elegant cocktails to a small crowd of hipsters. Definitely not your typical bar scene, but it’s refreshing to say the least.